Kennedy Krieger Institute.
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
J Exp Anal Behav. 2022 Jul;118(1):148-155. doi: 10.1002/jeab.769. Epub 2022 May 9.
The recurrence of a previously eliminated or reduced behavior following a downshift in alternative reinforcement is referred to as resurgence. Resurgence as Choice (RaC) is a quantitative model of behavioral persistence that posits that resurgence is governed by the same behavioral principles that underlie choice behavior. Consistent with the predictions of RaC, extant basic research with animals indicates that resurgence increases as an exponential function of the size of the downshift in alternative reinforcement. Recently, Shahan and Greer (2021) extended this finding to resurgence of problem behavior during schedule thinning following functional communication training (FCT). They found that when resurgence occurred, it increased exponentially as a function of relative decrements in reinforcer availability during schedule thinning with compound schedules of reinforcement. The purpose of the current study was to directly replicate the analytic procedures described in Shahan and Greer to examine resurgence of problem behavior during schedule thinning following FCT using two novel clinical datasets. Our results closely replicate the findings from Shahan and Greer, providing additional support for the generality of resurgence during downshifts in alternative reinforcement in clinical contexts. These results also highlight the potential applicability of RaC for modeling resurgence of problem behavior during FCT schedule thinning.
在替代强化的减少后，先前消除或减少的行为再次出现被称为复燃。作为选择的复燃（RaC）是一种行为持续的定量模型，它假设复燃受支配于选择行为所依据的相同行为原则。与 RaC 的预测一致，现有的动物基础研究表明，随着替代强化的减少量呈指数函数增加，复燃会增加。最近，Shahan 和 Greer（2021）将这一发现扩展到功能沟通训练（FCT）后时间表变薄过程中问题行为的复燃。他们发现，当复燃发生时，随着复合强化时间表中强化物可用性的相对减少，复燃呈指数函数增加。本研究的目的是直接复制 Shahan 和 Greer 所描述的分析程序，使用两个新的临床数据集来检查 FCT 后时间表变薄过程中问题行为的复燃。我们的结果与 Shahan 和 Greer 的发现非常吻合，为替代强化减少时临床环境中复燃的普遍性提供了额外的支持。这些结果还突出了 RaC 用于模型化 FCT 时间表变薄过程中问题行为复燃的潜在适用性。
